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Knicks fend off feisty ‘Cats; surging Sixers up

In the universe of ugly wins, Monday’s 91-87 victory over Charlotte – the two’s second MSG showdown in just five days – might most aptly described as a black hole.

Not merely because the two squads combined to shoot just 40% from the field. Not simply because, when viewed from a certain — read: every — angle, Boris Diaw looks like he could eat planets.

Rather, the qualifier fits what many of us feared an Stoudemire-Anthony template could present, namely an offense centered around two ball-stoppers whose tunnel-vision tendencies risk short-circuiting offensive continuity.

Thus, despite going a combined 13-43 from the floor, Stat and Melo’s unnerving off nights weren’t enough to derail a much-needed home victory over a team which had less than a week before flat-out embarrassed the Knicks on the very same floor, summoning a series of boos as off-putting to those watching at home as it must have been for the players themselves.

In his first Garden start, rookie Iman Shumpert continued to show why Donnie Walsh’s decision to take the former Georgia Tech Yellowjacket with the 17th pick in last June’s Draft might finally be appreciated for the sterling parting gift it seems.

While more solid than superlative, Shumpert’s stat line (16 points on 7-13 shooting, four rebounds, six assists, and three steals – all of which were converted to breakaway dunks) belied a presence, charisma, and lock-stock confidence not seen in a Knick rookie since Brooklyn’s own Mark Jackson – the 17th selection in the ’87 draft – was burning up the Garden parquet nearly a quarter century ago.

Call it “tamed cockiness.” Call it Stoudemire-grade swag. Call it a Draft night shoulder chip not yet shrugged, where each bead of sweat marks one boo exercised. Whatever “it” is, Iman Shumpert – small sample size be damned – seems to have it.

While the outcome was mercifully different from what transpired last Wednesday, there were some notable déjà vu moments, highlighted by yet another Boris Diaw vintage performance (19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists on 8-12 shooting). Though somewhat improved, the defensive rotations were at times spotty and frazzled, leading to another effective perimeter performance (7-19 from yonder) for the ‘Cats.

Far more depressing and deflating than Diaw’s encore performance, however, was the continued deterioration – statistically as well as emotionally – of Toney Douglas. After a mixed-bag start to the season, the last three games have seen TD’s productivity utterly hemorhhage (two points, two rebounds, and zero assists in that stretch).

Whether the product of a Shumpert-induced deficit of confidence, a nagging shoulder injury, or both, Douglas clearly needs either time or talk to get his head straight. Leading as he is a bench that produced a measly three points in last night’s contest, Douglas desperately needs to rediscover the flare that helped make him one of the more potent off-the-bench weapons in the league last year. How that happens is anyone’s guess, at this point.

Landry Fields, meanwhile, put up a passable — if unspectacular — line of five points, six rebounds, and five assists in 37 minutes. Like Douglas, Fields has fluctuated between tentative (at the very least) and being a downright liability for most of the season. Regardless of whether Baron Davis’ late January return makes Landry’s ultimate move to the bench a forgone conclusion, the Knicks will need Fields to at least flirt with last season’s now seemingly fool’s gold productivity — even in spurts — if their depth is to be anything close to what will be needed for a postseason run.

Aside from Shumpert, the most welcomed improvement over last week’s loss came in the form of a suddenly stride-catching Tyson Chandler. Held to just 11 points and six ‘bounds a week ago, Chandler exploded for 22 points (including a bonkers 95% TS%), 13 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks – with at least a couple of the final two coming at key intervals down the stretch to help keep the Bobcats at bay.

Despite their equally vacuous offensive showings, Melo and Stat still shone a silver lining or two. After tweaking his back late in Saturday’s blowout win over the Pistons, Melo’s 39 minutes proved the injury shouldn’t be much to worry about over the long haul. Meanwhile, Stoudemire, who forced a number of bullying stumbles towards the basket (and managed to pick up his third technical foul of the young season), grabbed exactly twelve rebounds for the third time in four games – a positive harbinger if ever there was one.

Now over .500 for the first time since Christmas, the ‘Bockers will have another day’s rest before lacing up for key early season showdown against the Atlantic leading and revitalized 76ers on Wednesday. The two teams split last season’s four game series, with the Knicks losing the first two before snagging two Ws from the hobbled Sixers down the stretch.

At 6-2, Philly currently boasts the largest point differential (a whopping 14.6) in the NBA, having held their opponents to a league low 85.6ppg. Granted, their schedule hasn’t been that much tougher than that of the Knicks. Still, the orange blue will clearly have their work cut out for them, in what promises to be a telling early season litmus test for exactly how far this still coalescing squad has come, and has yet to go.

86 comments on “Knicks fend off feisty ‘Cats; surging Sixers up”

Don’t look now, but Knicks are now 14th in NBA in defensive efficiency. Given the schedule so far, I wouldn’t say they’ve been above average, but it must be 10 years since they sniffed the top half of the league in D.

Knicks also 13th in O.

Philly is first in defensive efficiency, by an amazingly big margin (3.5 points), so should be a great test. Long-time readers know I am a huge Iggy fan – my fantasy trade is still Iggy & Jrue Holliday for one of our big 2.

Only because I’ve seen it written here 3 times now since yesterday, I have to ask: why do people think Walsh made the Shumert Pick? Grunwald was interim GM at the time, and he was the one who faced the media on draft day to explain the pick. Did he say that Donnie was responsible for it?

Z:
Only because I’ve seen it written here 3 times now since yesterday, I have to ask: why do people think Walsh made the Shumert Pick? Grunwald was interim GM at the time, and he was the one who faced the media on draft day to explain the pick. Did he say that Donnie was responsible for it?

Z: Only because I’ve seen it written here 3 times now since yesterday, I have to ask: why do people think Walsh made the Shumert Pick? Grunwald was interim GM at the time, and he was the one who faced the media on draft day to explain the pick. Did he say that Donnie was responsible for it?

I dont know if theres any truth to this, but at the time i remember hearing that Suns were very high on him . the knicks would then be able to use Iman in a trade for nash this season.

Nice story Jim. A good defensive effort. I must say by being unflattering re: Melo we will now be subjected to 200 posts along the lines of Melo is great, he has to do everything, I can’t believe anyone doesn’t acknowledge jhis awesomeness and how the rest of the clods are dragging him down and his assists.
Melo is an ISO fetishist who made a few assists plays no D and I wish we never blew up our cap spoace and roste rto trade for him …. :-) or maybe that should be a frown.

We really couldn’t have tried to play Balkman or Jordan for a few minutes last night? Obviously, you can’t hope to stop an all time great like Boris Diaw, but maybe we could have slowed him down a bit? And given Amare some rest? I don’t get D’Antoni’s substitution patterns.

#1 – the Knicks bench had THREE points last night, which according to Tommy Beer from Hoopsworld, is the lowest output their bench has had since 1971

#2 – they have the worst scoring bench in the league

#3 – in terms of his awesomeness. Right now he’s averaging 26.8 ppg, has an assist% (% of teammate field goals assisted on by him while on the floor) of 27.5, and a total rebound rate of 10%. I did a quick search on B-R to find player seasons where the player scored >26 ppg, had an assist% of 27+, and a total rebound rate of 9.5%+.

Amazing how many crappy players have ever had a season as good as crappy iso fetishist no assist no D Melo is having this year. Oh wait, it’s not “how many”, it’s that other thing called “how few”. here are the names:

I agree that he iso’s too much. I agree that he should try a little harder on defense on a consistent basis. But he is literally carrying this team on his back. He’s not Michael Jordan. He’s not Lebron James. But he is pretty freaking good and we shouldn’t be like those parents whose kid gets a 99 on a test and berate him for the point he missed.

Frank:
@6 – I agree with everything you said I would say – which is that:

#1 – the Knicks bench had THREE points last night, which according to Tommy Beer from Hoopsworld, is the lowest output their bench has had since 1971

#2 – they have the worst scoring bench in the league

#3 – in terms of his awesomeness.Right now he’s averaging 26.8 ppg, has an assist% (% of teammate field goals assisted on by him while on the floor) of 27.5, and a total rebound rate of 10%. I did a quick search on B-R to find player seasons where the player scored >26 ppg, had an assist% of 27+, and a total rebound rate of 9.5%+.

Amazing how many crappy players have ever had a season as good as crappy iso fetishist no assist no D Melo is having this year.Oh wait, it’s not “how many”, it’s that other thing called “how few”.here are the names:

I agree that he iso’s too much.I agree that he should try a little harder on defense on a consistent basis. But he is literally carrying this team on his back. He’s not Michael Jordan. He’s not Lebron James.But he is pretty freaking good and we shouldn’t be like those parents whose kid gets a 99 on a test and berate him for the point he missed.

Well said, but it seems like this topic will never go away. He’s the best player the Knicks have had since Ewing, but he’s treated by some on this site like he’s World B. Free.

I may come up with something better, but my initial thought with this was “Frankie Says Relax”-type shirt.

hmm, not crazy about it. i’ve made orange t-shirts myself, but not a great combo with just words IMO (although SHUMP SHUMP SAYS RELAX would be kind of funny, the double obscure reference might be a bit much). what about just a pic on the front and SHUMP SHUMP on the back, in Knicks blue?

@ 10 my sloppiness it should have been clear that we would be subjected to a litany of posts either extolling Carmelo while berating his teammates vs. those berating Carmelo. Instead it came off as if I was bashing him. My bad.

Is there any way for me to delete my prior posts? I just wanted to leave one more variation on the SHUMP-DMC idea with the Knicks colors, without spamming the hell out of this thread. Sorry, I don’t want to overstep the bounds of the site etiquette: (last one unless you guys wanna see more) http://i.imgur.com/AGbfI.png

I fear that Wednesday will be a bloodbath. They are a well-coached team that is young, athletic and virtually unchanged from last year..the perfect formula for surviving a zero-training camp, post-lockout, condensed season. They are playing with alot of confidence right now and we’re admittedly not confident in our own building yet. We’re just not ready to face them yet.

JoMo – I’ll take another person’s design. Quite honestly leave them all up & maybe we’ll have a poll (although I think the best poll is what people actually buy). Quite frankly if the site allows, you can <img src=’ them.

I do too, but I like this one the best, but think to meld the designs, instead of the 21, it should say “ain’t touch you” in the same type of white text, maybe bigger, under the shump shump. I want to buy a Shump shirt.

Owen, fess up, you know you want to see Harrellson more than Shump Shump. :)

one thing that my friend mentioned about Shumpert is how under control he always seems to be. those step-in jumpers are a perfect example, his body control is great and despite his manic energy, he never seems to be out of control, which is when guards tend to get hurt in the NBA.

also, I checked the price for the seats we were in last night, INSANE! I can’t believe people can really pay these prices game after game, no wonder some people around us were so dressed up.

The moment I heard him speaking in third person, I knew I wanted a Shump-Shump tee.

I think Shump looks so much better because the way he plays the game is such a stark contrast to Douglas. Douglas looks like he’s telegraphing virtually everything he’s doing, and looks just kind of uncomfortable on the floor. So when they swap for one another, it’s just night and day.

Was considering also making a JORTS! tee, but that doesn’t seem like it’d be as favorable. Maybe if there were Amaré Stou_emire shirts he’d get his act together.

@FilthyKnick here’s your suggestion: http://i.imgur.com/MpNdE.png , but I’m more partial to the name being the most prominent thing, and in agreement with Owen that less is more. “Ain’t touch you” will fade from fan vernacular in time, but “Shump-Shump” will forever live on like the hope diamond.

JoMo: Is there any way for me to delete my prior posts? I just wanted to leave one more variation on the SHUMP-DMC idea with the Knicks colors, without spamming the hell out of this thread. Sorry, I don’t want to overstep the bounds of the site etiquette: (last one unless you guys wanna see more) http://i.imgur.com/AGbfI.png

@FilthyKnick here’s your suggestion: http://i.imgur.com/MpNdE.png , but I’m more partial to the name being the most prominent thing, and in agreement with Owen that less is more. “Ain’t touch you” will fade from fan vernacular in time, but “Shump-Shump” will forever live on like the hope diamond.

I agree.

I also like #13 – the white on orange. What do you think that would look like with “21” instead of the text? Too empty on the black?

d-mar: Well said, but it seems like this topic will never go away. He’s the best player the Knicks have had since Ewing, but he’s treated by some on this site like he’s World B. Free.

Those of us that hold Melo accountable are not unaware of his ability. Of course he’s an extremely gifted player. (There was one play last night where he went to the rim and muscled his way to a layup. Man, is he strong) But, he has to be graded on a curve. He eats up a substantial portion of the payroll and we gave up good assets to get him. More importantly, we get on his case because he can be better, a more all around player. Hey, this is NYC and this is the deal when you come here as the marquee player. It’s pretty simple. Deliver the W’s or get scrutinized for the L’s. . . low on the coddling meter.

Melo and Amar’e may not be max contract players, but Tyson Chandler sure is playing like one. He’s second in the NBA behind LeBron James in WS/48 and has a TS% of .796. The dude is straight up BALLING.

NY is 24th in Hollinger’s initial power ratings, which seems pretty fair, to be honest. the funny thing is that even if NY has 9-0 right now, I doubt we’d be in the top 10 just because the schedule has been so weak (weakest in the league to date). if we can beat Philly tomorrow (1st in his rankings right now), that should mean a huge jump up.

it depends on Douglas, who’s shown virtually no signs of life so far this season, but if he is OK and you throw in Kenyon Martin in March, it’s maybe passable. right now it’s the worst bench in the league, though.

If Iman Shumpert continues to play this well, we will not have a problem dominating at home. Iman is a legit contender for Rookie of the Year. Toney Douglas is really struggling and if Shumpert can hold the fort down until B-Diddy gets back Knicks should be rolling. Btw, figured I would share this with fellow Knick fans. Draft Street is offering a FREE Fantasy Basketball Event this Thursday, the same night of the Knicks-Grizzlies game. I’ve done it before and it’s really awesome. You draft a team for one night and can win cash if your team places. Def worth checking out. http://www.draftstreet.com/l/nbafreeroll.aspx?AID=768&subid=January+Freeroll+-+tcswebsite&pid=201

knicks2:
If Iman Shumpert continues to play this well, we will not have a problem dominating at home. Iman is a legit contender for Rookie of the Year. Toney Douglas is really struggling and if Shumpert can hold the fort down until B-Diddy gets back Knicks should be rolling. Btw, figured I would share this with fellow Knick fans. Draft Street is offering a FREE Fantasy Basketball Event this Thursday, the same night of the Knicks-Grizzlies game. I’ve done it before and it’s really awesome. You draft a team for one night and can win cash if your team places. Def worth checking out. http://www.draftstreet.com/l/nbafreeroll.aspx?AID=768&subid=January+Freeroll+-+tcswebsite&pid=201

dont forget that Landry was a legit contender for rookie of the year last year a few weeks in…

I don’t think Fields line was passable- he’s hit two- TWO – shots outside the paint in the last 5 games. He has defended better in the last two games but if your shooting guard can’t hit a jump shot (and just as often won’t take an open one) you’re going to have trouble running your offense. His confidence is completely shot right now- the trouble is Walker’s been just as bad. People scoffed at the idea of Keith Bogans but Bogans last year was much better than Fields has been this year. I don’t expect Fields to continue to shoot .200 from three but at this point I don’t expect him to get back into the high .30s either.

@57 almost everyone was better than Fields has been this year. But I don’t think he’s this bad. His shooting has really come apart, and he’s not rebounding either (almost 50 percent drop). I know his role has changed but it does seem like he’s fighting through some mental issues. I’m cautiously optimistic he will get it together, eventually.

Fields continues to absolutely stink. Honestly, how many NBA rotations would he make playing the way he is right now? Seemed to me like every player on the Bobcats that saw more than 5 minutes played much better than Landry. The guy is shooting line drive free throws, and short-armed an airball from 15 feet on the wing. He can’t even drive baseline of finish on the break unless he’s wide open. He’s not a particularly good defender at either the 2 or the 3. Bogans can’t be worse than him right now. He’s a nice, smart guy and all, but this is the NBA. Time to man up or sit down. Could Balkman be any worse?

PS I heard that the Knicks staff “fixed” his shooting mechanics. Really?!!

Anyone watching the wolves Bulls game? Rubio is putting on a clinic. Also, AR is filling it up. He still can’t go to his right but Rubio is making him look great. AR is even playing some solid D on Boozer as well.

TDM:
Anyone watching the wolves Bulls game?Rubio is putting on a clinic.Also, AR is filling it up.He still can’t go to his right but Rubio is making him look great.AR is even playing some solid D on Boozer as well.

If they could trade Darko/Beasley for a decent defensive center and just start Rubio they could be pretty good. That’s why I think D12 should just say F it and go to Minny. He would be the perfect fit there with Love/Rubio.

I’m not Dwight, but I would rather live in Minneapolis than a lot of NBA cities: San Antonio, Orlando, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Detroit or Salt Lake City. Minneapolis has a bad rap as a basketball town, but it’s a quite prosperous mid-sized city with a better music, arts, and night life than many cities similar in size. It’s just cold as heck.

yeah, I wouldn’t choose any of those, but then again, I’m a lifelong NYer.

the KnWarriors upset Miami, Nate Robinson led them in scoring and D-Lee guarded LeBron on the perimeter and played him tough so that he missed the tying three. I was neutral on whether we should bring back Nate but not doing so looks really bad right now.

Yeah I just finished watching that as well. It’s nice to see a bunch of ex-Knicks (Felton, Nate, Lee, Channing, Jordan Hill) have good games tonight. I’m really concerned about the current bench’s ability to put up points. Right now I’m hoping that Toney’s shooting woes is because of a shoulder injury he’s too proud to announce.

This season really is crazy. First the Hornets kick the Nuggets’ ass last night and now the Warriors best the Heat (with Wade!) without Stephon Curry!! Nate was his usual self – lots of terrible shots but also some clutch baskets. Nice to see him have some success after being stuck to the bench in OKC. It really is interesting seeing how much players are controlled by the roles their coaches pick for them. Randolph is a good example – he keeps being sent to places where he can’t get burn. New York I felt was ridiculous, but in Minnesota, it makes sense since Love is so much better than him and Love can play lots of minutes.

Oh, I totally agree. I’m just saying that it at least made more sense to me why he hadn’t been getting as much playing time in Minnesota, even though I (of course) think he should have played more. At least he was getting regular minutes backing up Love as a post player, which he could not get as a Knick. As a Knick it made no sense that D’Antoni only gave him a chance as a post player once when Chandler and Turiaf were both injured (and he even played well when he got that chance!!!!).

Randolph seems to benefit heavily from a PG who will setup plays for him where he uses his left hand.

Speaking of which, was anyone else also as surprised as I was how good Rubio was at poking at the ball? There were at least 3 times when Rose passed him and he used his length to poke the ball out from behind.

Brian Cronin (@Brian_Cronin):
Oh, I totally agree. I’m just saying that it at least made more sense to me why he hadn’t been getting as much playing time in Minnesota, even though I (of course) think he should have played more. At least he was getting regular minutes backing up Love as a post player, which he could not get as a Knick. As a Knick it made no sense that D’Antoni only gave him a chance as a post player once when Chandler and Turiaf were both injured (and he even played well when he got that chance!!!!).

Yeah I’m guessing he’s not hoisting a lot of threes in Minny. And it was foolish to not look at Nate when we so desperately need bench scoring. He’s terrible as a starter but he’s ideal for the 2nd unit. Melo and Chandler would’ve loved him. Maybe the riff with MD’A was too big and I fault Mike there. Nate was always playing out of position and had too many expectations put on him like Crawford. Those guys just aren’t starters, but those teams were too weak not to start them.

Shad0wF0x:
Randolph seems to benefit heavily from a PG who will setup plays for him where he uses his left hand.

Speaking of which, was anyone else also as surprised as I was how good Rubio was at poking at the ball? There were at least 3 times when Rose passed him and he used his length to poke the ball out from behind.

I have to say, I’m starting to become a believer of him.

Ever so often when I watch Randolph, tho, he reminds me why he doesn’t play more. He has a moment when he thinks, hey, I’m a ball-handler! Then he dribbles into a trap or dribbles into the paint, doesn’t know what to do, and then takes a ridiculous shot that makes his coach slap his own forehead in frustration. He has a negative basketball IQ, IMHO.